The 10 Most Innovative Tech Hubs In The U.S.

As increasing numbers of job seekers turn their attention to startups and the tech industry, every city seems eager to position itself as a hub for innovators and big ideas.

But which cities can back up those claims?

To determine which of the country's metro areas were playing backdrop to the most innovation, personal finance site NerdWallet looked at the number of patents per 1,000 residents, venture capital received per capita in a particular region in 2014, and "economies of agglomeration"--essentially, the benefits realized when a high density of startups cluster together.

San Jose, California, San Francisco's neighbor to the south, lands in first place on this ranking. The city's metro area received $3,585.68 per capita in venture funding in 2014, and 27.39 tech-class patents were issued for every 1,000 residents. According to NerdWallet, "The valley’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, designed to give West Coast entrepreneurs closer access to government regulators and education, will permanently occupy part of San Jose’s City Hall after renovations are completed this year."

Runner up is the Boulder, Colorado, metropolitan area. Boulder has the highest density of startups of any city on this list, more than six times the national average. The San Francisco area might be the one most closely associated with startups and the tech industry, but the Bay Area ranks third on this list, with the second-highest venture capital funding, $3,400 per capita.

Covallis, Oregon, ranks fourth with companies like
Hewlett-Packard calling the city, which has a below-state-average unemployment rate of 5.1%, home. Seattle, Washington, home to tech behemoths Amazon and
Microsoft rounds out the top five with more than double the national average density for startups.

Fort Collins, Colorado, and Provo, Utah, home to Colorado State University and Brigham Young University, respectively, both join the list on the strength of the universities turning out well-educated graduates with strong tech backgrounds, contributing to the continued growth of the local startup scene.

Number eight Austin, Texas, has gained increasing attention in recent years as a tech hub and home to the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, prompting Facebook, Apple, and Google to open Lone Star State offices in Austin.

Burlington, Vermont, number nine, is often associated more closely with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream than it is with tech talent, but received the third highest number of tech-related patents per 1,000 people on this list.

Finally, Boston, Massachusetts takes 10th place, bringing in more than $900 in venture funding per 1,000 people and attracting international interest via Harvard and M.I.T.